The NBA: The Top 10 Internationals of 2012-2013 (so far)

Yesterday
was a good day for NBA internationals. Goran Dragic had 19 points, 7 assists,
and 5 rebounds in leading Phoenix to its seventh win, 91-78, at the expense of
the Cavs. Brazilian Anderson Varejao continued his strong play, netting another
impressive double-double line – 20 points and 18 rebounds – in the loss.
Toronto’s Andrea Bargnani, meanwhile, led the Raptors with 21 points in a sorry
loss to the grieving Houston Rockets, whose coach, Kevin McHale, recently losthis daughter to lupus. :(

Dragic,
Varejao, and Bargnani are three promising international talents in the NBA, but
there are other foreign-bred, or born, guys who have been making waves in the
first few weeks of the season. We’ll take a look at those guys today. The main
basis for this compilation is the calculated NBA Efficiency rating of each
international (based on HoopStats.com). I like this particular stat because of
two things: 1) it’s quite simple to calculate and understand (no need for
complicated formulas that leverage one or two stats over others – just straight
up positives minus negatives), and 2) it measures WHAT REALLY HAPPENED on the
court (i.e. aggregate contributions) as opposed to other metrics that calculate
a player’s “potential” production – it’s just more “real” this way. Besides,
this isn’t meant to predict who will be good in the future. Rather, it’s simply
a list of those who’ve done really well in the past few weeks up to this point.

Also, only international
players who have played for their “home countries” or “adopted countries” will
be counted here, which means someone like Kyrie Irving, who is technically
Australian-American, will not be included, since he played for the USA Junior
Select and Youth teams before. All the following players have seen action for
their respective national teams in FIBA-sanctioned events.

10. Pau Gasol (LA Lakers/Spain) – 17.6 EFF

At just
13.1ppg and 9.1rpg, the elder Gasol isn’t exactly having a banner season, but
considering the quality of his frontline partner and the overall depth of the
Lakers, these numbers aren’t too shabby. In my opinion, he’s still one of the
top two overall natural centers in the league, though his numbers don’t show
it. Given the Lakers’ inconsistent play, however, I won’t be surprised if we
see Pau on another team before the holidays finish.

9. Tony Parker (San Antonio/France) – 17.6
EFF

The fiery
Frenchman is norming better than 17 points and 7 assists so far this season.
Those are a little lower than his averages last season, but he should continue
his strong play as the Spurs remain top-level contenders in the West. What’s
really impressive, though, is him shooting 48% from the field and 35% from
beyond the arc.

8. Nicolas Batum (Portland/France) – 18.9
EFF

Parker’s
teammate on the French NT is having his best season so far. He has the
second-highest EFF on the Portland roster, and he’s improved on all major stat
categories. If Batum plays his cards right, he might even be considered an
All-Star early in 2013. It would help, of course, if the Blazers were winning
more games.

Nicolas Batum shoots over Brandon Knight in a game between the Blazers and the Pistons.(image by Carlos Osorio/AP)

7. Goran Dragic (Phoenix/Slovenia) – 19.1
EFF

The only
Slovenian on this list is also enjoying a career season. He was good with
Houston last year, but he’s been great for Phoenix this season. His
contribution includes better than 16 points, 7 dimes, and 2 steals per outing,
all of which make him the best player on the Suns’ lineup. He’s currently
better than former Houston teammate Luis Scola (another international), the
underperforming Michael Beasley, and the slumping (of late) Marcin Gortat (yet
ANOTHER international).

6. Serge Ibaka (Oklahoma/Spain) – 19.2 EFF

This is how
good Ibaka is – on a team with two Team USA stars (Kevin Durant and Russell
Westbrook), the Congo-born Spanish national (yes, try to wrap your head around
that for a second) is currently carrying a 19.2 EFF rating. That kind of rating
is good enough to lead some NBA teams, but on OKC, he’s just third-best. His
career-highs in scoring, rebounding, FG shooting, and FT shooting offset his
dip in the blocks category – if you can call 2.9bpg a dip at all.

5. Andrei Kirilenko (Minnesota/Russia) –
19.2 EFF

In his first
NBA year NOT wearing a Utah Jazz jersey, the rompin’ Russian is enjoying one of
his most productive seasons ever. Averaging 13.0ppg, 7.8rpg, 1.8bpg, and 1.5spg
won’t make this his CAREER-BEST, but those numbers certainly improve upon his
last few seasons in Salt Lake City. The T-Wolves are still struggling, but
nobody can blame AK47 for that.

4. Al Horford (Atlanta/Dominican Republic)
– 20.0 EFF

After a
slight dip in production last year, Horford is back as the best player on the
Hawks’ roster. His near-double-double nightly production is expected, and
needed, as Atlanta continues to search for its identity in the post-Joe Johnson
era. They’ll want Horford to remain consistent in putting up his 16 points and
9 boards per game. With Howard no longer in the same conference, and Andrew Bynum
being, well, himself, it might also be quite reasonable to picture Horford as a
reserve for the East All-Stars early next year.

Al Horford might see a return to theEast All-Stars this season.(image by Kent Smith/Getty Images)

3. Joakim Noah (Chicago/France) – 21.8 EFF

The third
French guy on this list is the biggest and, so far, the best. He also possesses
the fifth-highest EFF out East, behind Chris Bosh, Rajon Rondo, the #1 guy on
this list, and, LeBron James. This means he, NOT Luol Deng, is the best Chicago
Bull right now. His numbers aren’t astronomical – 13.4ppg, 9.7rpg, 4.0apg,
2.2bpg, and 1.5spg (heck, his FG%, at around 47%, leaves a lot to be desired),
but what he lacks in explosiveness, he makes up for in spades with
well-roundedness. He fills up the stat-sheet in FIVE CATEGORIES (the guy is the
number one passing big man in the East)! He looks like a beast, and, well, he
IS a beast.

2. Marc Gasol (Memphis/Spain) – 22.3 EFF

Perhaps for
the first time ever, the younger Gasol brother is the better one. His EFF is
good enough to place him in the league’s Top 10, and, of course, as Memphis’s
top player so far. 15.3ppg, 6.9rpg, 4.8apg, and 1.3bpg while shooting 52% from
the field and, get this, 91% from the stripe? WOW. Eat that, Pau. Eat that,
Zach Randolph. Gasol is the King Grizzly Bear in Tennessee. He’s also the best
center in the Western Conference BAR NONE (eat that, Dwight Howard, and, NO, Tim
Duncan will never be a natural C in my book).

1. Anderson Varejao (Cleveland/Brazil) –
26.7 EFF

Ladies and
gents, the NUMBER ONE international player in the NBA right now is not from
Europe, is not from traditional South American powerhouse Argentina, and never figured
in the same conversation as international luminaries Dirk Nowitzki and Manu
Ginobili. I actually thought we had seen the best out of this guy in the LBJ
years, but he’s turned into a really efficient workhorse for the Cavs, not to
mention a great complement to Kyrie Irving. Look at the numbers he’s putting up
– 14.5ppg, 14.9rpg (#1 in the league), 3.2apg, 1.2spg, and 52.5 FG%. With the
exception of FG%, those are all career-highs. And, yeah, he also has a MUCH
HIGHER EFF than Irving. The new King Cavalier and the best East big man, by far,
is (I never thought I’d write this) Anderson Varejao.

Anderson Varejao and Marc Gasol are the two bestinternational players so far this season.(image by Danny Johnston/AP)

Game
Recaps (courtesy of the Sports Network):

Phoenix 91, Cleveland 78

Goran Dragic
poured in 19 points and dished out seven assists to lead the Phoenix Suns past
the Cleveland Cavaliers, 91-78, on Tuesday. Michael Beasley added 15 points and
Luis Scola had 14 off the bench for the Suns, who have won three of their last
four following a three-game skid. Anderson Varejao scored a game-high 20 points
and pulled down 18 boards while Dion Waiters added 16 points and seven assists
for the Cavaliers, who are just 1-4 since losing point guard Kyrie Irving to a
finger injury, and 1-10 over their past 11 contests.

Philadelphia 100, Dallas 98

Evan Turner
scored 22 points and the Philadelphia 76ers held off a late comeback attempt by
the Dallas Mavericks to produce a 100-98 victory at the Wells Fargo Center.
Thaddeus Young added 20 points and Jrue Holiday had 18 along with seven assists
for Philadelphia, which put together a 10-0 run midway through the fourth
quarter to break an 81-81 deadlock before staving off the hard-charging
Mavericks down the stretch to record their fifth win in seven games. Dallas cut
a 100-93 deficit with under two minutes left down to two on the strength of
five straight points from Vince Carter, then had a chance to tie when O.J. Mayo
was fouled going to the lane with 2.7 seconds to play. He missed both free
throw tries, however, and Jae Crowder's desperation shot off the rebound missed
the mark as time expired. Chris Kaman put up 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting and
Shawn Marion finished with 17 in the loss, Dallas' second straight and seventh
in its last 10 outings.

Houston 117, Toronto 101

Playing with
heavy hearts, the Houston Rockets made their grieving head coach Kevin McHale
proud in the team's first game since the death of his daughter. Jeremy Lin and
James Harden combined for 40 points and 22 assists in the Rockets' 117-101 win
over the Toronto Raptors. McHale's 23-year-old daughter Sasha passed away
Saturday after a long battle with lupus, an auto-immune disease. She had been
hospitalized with a related condition. The Rockets wore black badges on their
jerseys to honor Sasha McHale. Lin, who has tallied nine assists and 12
turnovers over his last three games coming in, dished out 10 helpers to go
along with 16 points and three giveaways in the win. Harden added 24 points and
12 assists for Houston, which has won three straight contests. Omer Asik had 13
points and 18 rebounds in the victory. Lin took over the reigns at point guard
this season for Kyle Lowry, who had been with Houston the previous three-plus
years. Lowry had just seven points for Toronto, which has dropped five
consecutive games.

Minnesota 97, Sacramento 89

Kevin Love
scored a game-high 23 points and pulled down 24 rebounds to lead the Minnesota
Timberwolves to a 97-89 win over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday. Luke Ridnour
had 18 points and five assists and Nikola Pekovic scored 16 to go along with
eight boards and four assists for the Wolves, who snapped a five- game skid.
Andrei Kirilenko had 14 points, six rebounds and five assists and Malcolm Lee
chipped in with 10 points in the victory. DeMarcus Cousins and Tyreke Evans
each scored 20 points and Marcus Thornton had 12 points off the bench for the
Kings, who have alternated wins and losses the past four games following a
five-game skid.

Indiana 79, LA Lakers 77

George
Hill's go-ahead layup with 0.1 seconds left lifted the Indiana Pacers to a 79-77
win over the Los Angeles Lakers. With 24.5 left on the clock, Hill calmly and
cooly took the time down to four seconds before he made his move. Hill drove
past Metta World Peace and Pau Gasol before his high-arching underhanded scoop
shot over the outstretched arms of Gasol and Dwight Howard and kissed high off
the glass and through the net. Following a Lakers timeout, World Peace lobbed
his inbounds pass to the rim, but no Los Angeles player was in the vicinity.
Kobe Bryant, who finished with 40 points, tied the contest at 77-77 prior to
Hill's layup after he rose over two Pacers and nailed a pull-up, right-wing 3-
pointer. Hill tallied 19 points for the Pacers, who have won three of their
last four games. David West had 16 points, 10 boards and eight assists in the
win.